HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE TO HOLD COMMUNITY FORUM TO DISCUSS THE STATE OF LOCAL AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

December 8, 2016 (Houston, Texas) - The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is holding a community forum Thursday, December 15th, 2016 to continue its comprehensive community engagement initiatives. The forum, entitled “The State of Local African American Cultural Institutions” will focus on current challenges facing such institutions, projects to improve local partnerships and collaborations, and identification of resources to strengthen such organizations.

HMAAC CEO John Guess will be joined by Naomi Carrier of the Texas Center for African American Living History and Michelle Barnes of the Community Artists Collective, with the list expected to grow to include other cultural leaders. “This is a critical time for African American cultural institutions and our community,” according to Guess. Added Barnes, “We must take the initiative to focus attention on our cultural community.” “Together we win,” said Carrier.

HMAAC will use the occasion to release its white paper, A Cultural Plan for Houston’s African American Communities, intended to be the basis for community engagement with private and public funding sources. This event is free and open to the general public.

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ABOUT HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

The mission of the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. HMAAC explores stories inspired by themes of opportunity, empowerment, creativity, and innovation and cultural interrelationships through the lens of the African American experience.